|
Cast:
Fu
Che
Chen
Sze Sze
Ping
Fan
Wong
Pao Cheng
Action:
Liu
Chia Liang
Producer:
Shen
Tien Ying
Director:
Fu
Che
Cheung
Yam Yin
Score:
 
|
THE
JADE BOW
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1966 Reviewer: Rob
Daniel
Made
the same year as 'Come
Drink With Me', 'The Jade Bow' is another film that
ushered in a new era of more "realistic" wuxia
pien films, best represented by the Shaw Brothers
classics. While
an enjoyable, spirited romp 'The Jade Bow' definitely plays
second fiddle to its more illustrious contemporaries in both
ambition and execution.
Notable
for featuring action direction by Liu Chia Liang ('The
36th Chamber of Shaolin', 'Drunken
Master II'), 'The Jade Bow' includes moments of
well-realized action but looks dated and stilted even compared
to 'Come Drink With Me' or 'The Temple of the Red Lotus'
(which Lau had acted in a year previously).
Opening
with a barrage of plot information, the story quickly settles
down into family melodrama, albeit with smoke, mirrors and a
smattering of wire-aided gravity defiance.
Upright
young warrior King Shi Yi (Fu Chen) is ordered by his ailing
master to defeat the evil tyrant Meng Sheng Tung (Wong).
Twenty years previously, King’s master watched Meng
slay the owners of two volumes of martial arts techniques and
make off with one of the books.
Meng's wife was killed in the fight and his daughter
was raised to be an enemy of her father, unaware of her
parentage. The
books' owners also had a daughter who was raised by her uncle
to reap vengeance on Meng.
Two decades later and Meng's daughter Ku Chi Hua (Ping)
and the daughter of the books' owners, Li Shen Nan (Chen) are
fighting their own battles against Meng.
They come together through an affection for King, which
leads to other problems when attempting to unite to confront
the evil Meng.
'The
Jade Bow' (referring to Shen Nan's weapon of choice) is a
colourful, spirited adventure story with comedy, action,
unrequited passion and a bombastic score that owes as much to
'The Adventures of Robin Hood' as it does to traditional
Chinese music. But,
while the film exudes a good- natured charm, it lacks the
talent and spark that marked the contemporary Shaw Brothers
films.
To
modern eyes the action is noticeably quaint, with the three
leads (none of them trained in martial arts) pulling punches
and clearly being replaced by doubles for much of the
swordplay. During
larger fight scenes the background action is under-directed,
supporting actors repeating basic moves or even checking to
see if the shot is over.
Special effects such as Meng's smoking icy palm death
grip and Shen Nan's smoke bombs, combined with attractive
pastel sets and vibrant costumes, better fit the tone of the
film, and the wirework, though primitive by later standards,
adequately physical ability just beyond the realm of
possibility.
Pacing
also belongs to a different age, with exposition filled
conversation often grinding the film to a halt; directors
Cheung and Fu clearly never heard the maxim "Don't tell
it, show it!" They
occasionally display an eye for composition, using a
travelling camera to good effect when Shen Nan is attempting
to poison Chi Hua, but much 'The Jade Bow' takes place in
mid-shot or long shot hell, slowing the pace further.
Fu does not appear to have moved on to other projects
of note, but Cheung was later responsible for 'The Shaolin
Temple' (1982) and 'The Kids from Shaolin' (1984), two
minor classics of the wuxia genre that launched Jet
Li's career.
The
three leads, chosen because they were popular actors of the
day, are likeable enough although Fu seems too old for his
wide-eyed role. Wong
in particular enters the pantomime nature of the film with
gusto, giving the film a memorable villain.
With
the theme of familial tragedy and revenge, children raised in
secret to battle tyrannical parents, and numerous rescues from
lethally booby-trapped fortresses, 'The Jade Bow' bears a
strong resemblance to a certain George Lucas space-opera.
But, as 'The Jade Bow' followed on and continued a long
tradition of conventions, it probably features elements found
in many Chinese adventure stories of the period rather than
being a key source of inspiration.
Popular
in its day 'The Jade Bow' now is more of historical interest
for fans of wuxia pien, its thrills done bigger and
better elsewhere.
|
